Chocolate Hearts | Jongin

05. Star Struck

Chocolate Hearts
Chapter Five
Star Struck

Nari was a little tired when she walked into the patisserie the next morning. She'd stayed up long into the night, thinking about the afternoon's events. But the buzz and excitement still hung around her like lingering perfume, and that gave her some energy to move through the day. She was just so happy that she didn't even realise how tired she was.

When she walked into the kitchen humming to herself and smiling, Yumi and Hye-Ja's heads instantly snapped up. They knew at once something was different about her friend; she never entered like that.

Yumi was on her at once.

"Tell us everything!" she declared, flicking her hair. Her pink streaks stood out against her brown hair. She rested her hands on her hips. "And don't even think about leaving a single detail out! Every conversation, every word. Tell us!"

"Whoa, Yumi!" Nari laughed shakily, raising her hands. "My memory isn't that good!"

"Well at least tell us as much as you can remember!"

Nari sighed, but nonetheless recounted the events of the previous day to her friends as she went through the process of making dough for pastries. The more she spoke, the more she smiled, until the corners of her lips felt like they almost reached her eyes.

She couldn't help but notice that Yumi was hanging on to every word, and while Hye-Ja appeared only mildly interested, her eyes remained glued to Nari. Both of them wanted to hear every last thing she had to say.

When she finished, Yumi was shaking her head, like she was struggling to comprehend everything she'd just heard. "Nari!" she exclaimed at last. "You are so lucky! I'd have done anything to have been there."

Nari snorted. "You would have broken up with Chi-Won within the first five minutes of meeting them."

She expected a snappy remark, and was surprised when her friend merely shrugged and returned to her baking. "We broke up last night."

"Ha! Pay up, Nari!" Hye-Ja yelled at once. Nari scowled at her friend and handed over the cash she'd stored in her back pocket.

Yumi frowned. "I wish you wouldn't treat my dating like a game," she muttered. "But we got into an argument last night. If he doesn't respect my opinions, well, I don't have anything to say."

Nari grinned. "Good for you, Yumi."

"But that's beside the point." Yumi paused momentarily. "What's more interesting is that you danced! You danced, Nari! And you never dance! And you did that around Exo as well!"

Hye-Ja laughed at this as well. Nari rolled her eyes. "Jongdae pulled me into it," she commented, turning back to the dough she was kneading.

"But still. You interacted with everyone! And," Yumi narrowed her eyes accusingly, "You did wish Kai a happy birthday, right?"

"Of course!"

"Good. I wouldn't have forgiven you if you hadn't."

"Nari isn't that forgetful, Yumi," Hye-Ja commented. "You're probably the most scatterbrained out of all of us."

"I'm not!"

"Little miss social butterfly, her mind darting from one thing to another, the person with the greatest track record of burning products amongst the three of us..."

"Jah! Hye-Ja!" Yumi grabbed her spoon and flicked some of the chocolate mixture at her friend. Hye-Ja yelped and returned the favour.

"Don't waste the batter!" Nari yelled, but she wasn't sure if the two heard. But she laughed and returned to her baking, leaving the two to sort themselves out.